Archive: saudi arabia

14th October 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
Saudi Arabia is surely relieved. Less than a week after its coalition warplanes committed the worst atrocity of the Yemen war so far, killing at least 140 people at a funeral and injuring more than 500, the heat is off and the media focus has shifted to Iran. The bombing in the Yemeni capital last… Read more
14th October 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
The United States, which has been anxious not to acquire the legal status of "co-belligerent" in the Yemen war, yesterday fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at three radar stations on Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory. The strikes signal a further escalation of tensions in the Red Sea which have been… Read more
11th October 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
Saudi Arabia has "privately accepted" that one of its coalition warplanes bombed a funeral in Yemen on Saturday, according to the BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner. Gardner's report appears to be based on a briefing from British government officials. At least 140 mourners died in the… Read more
10th October 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
The bombing has been "barbaric" and war crimes have "unquestionably" been committed. One especially repugnant kind of bombing is known, euphemistically, as the double tap: "They drop one bomb and then they wait for the aid workers to come out, civilian people pulling the injured from the rubble,… Read more
9th October 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
Two airstrikes hit a large funeral gathering in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Saturday killing more than 140 people and injuring at least 525, according to the UN's humanitarian coordinator in the country. This was the worst single attack of the war so far and it is difficult to construe it as… Read more
6th October 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
More details are emerging about the attack on a highly unusual "civilian" vessel which was severely damaged by Houthi fighters at the southern end of the Red Sea last weekend (see yesterday's blog post). The Saudi-led coalition which is fighting the Houthis in Yemen insists that the vessel, painted… Read more
13th September 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
The battle over Britain's arms sales to Saudi Arabia is getting dirtier and dirtier, amid talk of disbanding a troublesome parliamentary committee which sought to have sales suspended. In a draft report earlier this month, the all-party Committee on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) warned: "The weight… Read more
9th September 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
Strenuous efforts are under way to water-down a report by British MPs which – in its draft form – calls for a suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The draft version, prepared by the all-party Committee on Arms Export Controls, was leaked to the BBC and quoted extensively on the Newsnight… Read more
7th September 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
The British government's determination to continue selling weapons to Saudi Arabia – despite credible reports that the Saudis are committing war crimes in Yemen – is facing its most serious challenge yet. A parliamentary committee – the Committee on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) – is due to report… Read more
2nd September 2016
By: Brian Whitaker
Britain's three worst newspapers – the Daily Express, the Sun and the Daily Mail – along with the dreadful Jihadwatch website and the Russian Sputnik propaganda site have suddenly become excited about the plight of atheists in Saudi Arabia. During the last few days they have all reported that the… Read more